Constantino Foundation – Page 17 – Dedicated to a usable history, where lessons from the past are used to shape the future.

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From Past to Present: PUP Reflections on The Philippines: A Past Revisited

The enduring influence of The Philippines: A Past Revisited (APR) by Letizia Roxas Constantino and Renato Constantino was celebrated in a special book launch held at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) as part of the Research Colloquium of the PUP Department of History and the PUP Samahan ng Mag-aaral ng Kasaysayan. Nearly 50 years since it was first published, the book continues to resonate with new generations, reaffirming its place as one of the most important works in Philippine historiography.

PAGBABALIK TANAW SA MAKASAYSAYANG “BATTLE OF PINAGLABANAN” – PILIPINO Mirror

September 6, 2025 | PILIPINO Mirror |Riza Zuñiga | Book signing sa Museo El Deposito sa Pinaglabanan Shrine sa San Juan. Kuha ni Riza[READ]

For Freedom

By Bernard Karganilla | September 4, 2025 | Malaya Business Insight ‘These are historical facts that are hereby recalled on the occasion of the[READ]

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Leonard Co, Bayani Ko t-shirts and books will be available tomorrow at the Maginhawa Arts and Food Festival at the Constantino Foundation tent!

Come on over and help bring justice to Leonard Co, the People’s Botanist!

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Pasts Revisited

Gloria Capitan

Murdered on this day, 1 July 2016, Gloria Capitan, true #ClimateHero and first recorded extra-judicial killing under the Duterte regime. Capitan led the fight against a proposed coal power project in Bataan. She was a grandmother who will not be forgotten by a grateful nation.

The #ConstantinoFoundation thanks the artist Maudine Hermione B. Yap for sharing her piece The Hanged Woman, part of a collection produced under the visual communications class of Prof. Mitzi Reyes, former dean of the U.P. College of Fine Arts, all rendered in February 2020 in reflection of the #AlasNgBayan exhibit by #350Pilipinas volunteer Johnny Guarin.

#APastRevisited

July 1, 2025|

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Now Available: 50th Anniversary Edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited

Here's the new book! It can be purchased at Popular Bookstore by August 26, as well as at the book launch in Rosh Hotel the same day and at the launch in Museo El Deposito in San Juan on Aug. 29!

Book launch alert!

There's a new introduction and new layout, but it's still the same hard-hitting narrative of our history by the champions of a usable past, partisan scholars Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino. Lots of dates and events coming up so keep visiting the Constantino Foundation's website! [READ]

Major Joy as Mayor Joy and QC Councilors Visit the Exhibit

It was a delightful Wednesday afternoon as the Constantino Foundation received the Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Councilors Wency Lagumbay, Doray Delarmente, and Atty. Tope Liquigan, the city’s tourism chief, Giana Barata, and around 15 other staff of the city. The visit was filled with questions and expressions of wonder[READ]

Celebrity visitors–Celebrating past and future

Who’s a celebrity? Or what is a celebrity? Maybe everyone, at least those who celebrate history. And so the exhibit continues, and many thank those who asked for an extension. We’ve had loads of eager visitors since as many have requested appointments through the foundation’s channels and requests conveyed to family[READ]

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“Thank you very much, Constantino Foundation! It was a lovely afternoon spent learning about history, poetry, art, climate change, street names, the bicycles in revolution, kickass heroines, and much more! Renato Redentor Constantino’s talk and Renato Senior’s book A Past Revisited really got under my skin. Maraming salamat!”

Gege Cruz Sugue
Flips Flipping Books book club, 12 August 2024
“One of the most towering texts of nationalist historiography — co-authored by Letizia Constantino, whose voice carried the struggle for true independence into classrooms and beyond.”

Michael “Xiao” Chua
Historian , On his column at The Manila Times
“Letizia Constantino: Nationalist historian, wife and mother” 2025 June 17
“At a low point in my life, I received a note from Letizia Constantino, unsolicited advice that encouraged me to keep writing. I never got to thank her personally for that pat on the back; this column is belated gratitude.”

Ambeth R. Ocampo
Historian, An excerpt from his column in Philippine Daily Inquirer
"Letizia Roxas Constantino, historian", 2025 June 06
“Taos pusong pagpapasalamat ng angkang Orosa for your inclusion of our Beloved Maria Y. Orosa in this PUP mural. Renato Redentor Constantino, we are ever grateful for this honor and recognition. Our forebears knew each other. Mine spoke highly of the Constantinos!”

Evelyn Orosa del Rosario Garcia
Great grand niece of Maria Y. Orosa and author of National Book Award winner
Appetite for Freedom: The Recipes of Maria Y. Orosa, with Essays on Her Life and Work.
“Mabuhay ka RC. Patuloy namin ikaw inaalala at ipinagdadasal sa lakbay mo ngayon. We will continue our conversations with family, even while you have left us. You will forever live in our hearts and we celebrate your life fully!”

Loretta Ann Rosales
Former member, House of Representatives
and former chair of the Commission on Human Rights
“A Past Revisited was both a revelation and a challenge. It made us see the familiar narratives of Philippine history in new and unsettling ways. It invited us to ask deeper questions—about power, about colonial legacies, about the struggles and aspirations of our people. And it also gave us a sense of responsibility: to carry history forward not just as memory, but as a guide for action and transformation.”

Dr. Chas M. Navarro
Commissioner, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)
On his remarks at the launch of the 50th Anniversary Special Edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited
2025 Aug 29
“Frequented the area in the early ’80s because of Popular Bookstore (small door, beside the gate of Mapua High School), the only one that carried engineering books required for our course. It was still Martial Law… One buys … dangerous reading materials afraid of the Secret Marshals who were then infamous for salvaging (tokhang in the time of tatay digong) petty criminals and activists. Across Mapua High then was a parking lot of mini buses – now the Manila Grand Opera.”

Melvin Purzuelo
Iloilo environmentalist, commenting on the foundation’s history article in BusinessMirror,
“Cycling through the fabled history of an opera house, now a hotel,” June 2024.
"... A Past Revisited sparked a different kind of revolution, one that urged Filipinos to view history through our own eyes and experiences. Thank you very much to our dear friend, ABS-CBN’s Karmina Constantino, a resident of San Juan, for inviting me to be part of this historic occasion."

Mayor Francis Zamora
San Juan City Governor , On his speech at APR 50th anniversary edition launch at NHCP Museo El Deposito
2025 August 29
“Yes, third time [sila/Inang Laya] pumunta at kumanta sa rally sa Dasmarinas town plaza, sa parish church sa our Lady of Perpetual Help sa Dasmariñas Bagong Bayan and sa martsa rali ng mga maralitang lunsod from Dasmariñas to Bacoor na hinarang sumama at di sya [Karina Constantino-David] umalis hanggang kinabukasan.”

Ian Yaun
March 19, 2024
“Good read. At aliw. Ito ang kahapon na masarap balikan!”

Cherylle Lara Raguini
Subic civic leader, commenting on the foundation essay in ABS-CBN,
“Street names and the persistence of memory,” June 2024
"Thank you for having us ... We truly enjoyed ourselves. The exhibit was very inspiring, beautifully presented and so insightful. We were all so impressed. Hope we can use some of the material in our Women’s Museum. ❤️"

Mayor Joy Belmonte
Quezon City Governor, On her visit at Letizia: A Life in Letters Exhibit
2025 July 30
“We have been so wonderfully blessed in the past week by the presence of tremendously inspiring people, one of them, the one who likes to “shake trees”, is Sir Renato Redentor Constantino who moved the entire plenary to feel, think, and act… people couldn’t help but share and talk about the presentation. I told Sir Red that by the second day of the event, people realized there were ‘deeper commitments than professionalism.’”

Floraime Pantaleta
Executive Director, Ateneo Zamboanga-Mindanao Institute

Spotlight

The Foundation

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Spotlight

The Foundation

Our Partners

Teacher Support

Pasts Revisited

Gloria Capitan

Events

Videos

Stories

“One of the most towering texts of nationalist historiography — co-authored by Letizia Constantino, whose voice carried the struggle for true independence into classrooms and beyond.”

“At a low point in my life, I received a note from Letizia Constantino, unsolicited advice that encouraged me to keep writing. I never got to thank her personally for that pat on the back; this column is belated gratitude.”

“Taos pusong pagpapasalamat ng angkang Orosa for your inclusion of our Beloved Maria Y. Orosa in this PUP mural. Renato Redentor Constantino, we are ever grateful for this honor and recognition. Our forebears knew each other. Mine spoke highly of the Constantinos!”​

“Mabuhay ka RC. Patuloy namin ikaw inaalala at ipinagdadasal sa lakbay mo ngayon. We will continue our conversations with family, even while you have left us. You will forever live in our hearts and we celebrate your life fully!”

"... A Past Revisited sparked a different kind of revolution, one that urged Filipinos to view history through our own eyes and experiences. Thank you very much to our dear friend, ABS-CBN’s Karmina Constantino, a resident of San Juan, for inviting me to be part of this historic occasion."

“Good read. At aliw. Ito ang kahapon na masarap balikan!”

"Thank you for having us ... We truly enjoyed ourselves. The exhibit was very inspiring, beautifully presented and so insightful. We were all so impressed. Hope we can use some of the material in our Women’s Museum. ❤️"

“Taos pusong pagpapasalamat ng angkang Orosa for your inclusion of our Beloved Maria Y. Orosa in this PUP mural. Renato Redentor Constantino, we are ever grateful for this honor and recognition. Our forebears knew each other. Mine spoke highly of the Constantinos!”